Why I support assisted dying

Unless we are particularly unfortunate, or live under some form of oppressive regime, everything we do in our lives is more or less under our own control. What we eat, what we wear, where we live who we sleep with/marry/secretly lust for - it's all up to us. Until it seems you come to leave this life, when that happens the decisions about how and where you die can be taken out of your hands  by family or healthcare professionals with little or no regard to your own preferences. I like being in control of my own life and the thought that I will not be in control of the end of it fills me with horror, and that is why I am a supporter of assisted dying.  The Dignity in Dying website defines an assisted death as one where a doctor prescribes a life-ending dose of medication to a mentally competent, terminally ill adult at their request, and the patient then chooses to administer the medication themselves. Assisted dying is different to euthanasia and assisted suicide. Euthanasia is a term often used to describe life ending medication being administered by a third party. Assisted suicide refers to providing assistance to die to someone who is not dying. When it comes to it, I would prefer to chose how and when I die. This is not about doubts about standards of palliative care, not about concerns about adequate pain management and not because I have my doubts about the quality of end of life care in the UK - it is all about ending my life the way I've lived it....on my own terms

I appreciate that there are some people who hold equally strong beliefs, religious, moral or otherwise about the sanctity of life and I respect their right to hold those views. What I cannot understand is why such people are not willing to afford a similar level of respect to me